Forensic linguistics : a study of themajor aspects of the field

Abstract EN

Forensic Linguistics is a branch of linguistics, the science of language in all its aspects.

This field of investigation, i.e., forensic linguistics, has been growing in prominence over the last twenty years and has embraced a number of areas including speaker identification, author identification, discourse analysis, linguistic origin analysis, legal language comprehensibility and legal language reform (Brennan, 2001).

Recently, forensic linguistics has been used to identify anonymous perpetrators in famous cases such as that of Yorkshire Ripper.

It has also been used in the John Bein Rasmey murder investigation, the O.

J.

Simpson case, and the Oklahoma Unabomber (Roadman, 2001).

Now, there is a professional organization that holds the name "The International Association of Forensic Linguistics" as well as the "International Association of Forensic Phonetics".

There is at least one journal that bears the title "The International Journal of Speech Language and Law', and there are a number of annual conferences and symposia held in different parts of the world devoted to the topic.

Programs in forensic linguistics areForensic Linguistics is a branch of linguistics, the science of language in all its aspects.

This field of investigation, i.e., forensic linguistics, has been growing in prominence over the last twenty years and has embraced a number of areas including speaker identification, author identification, discourse analysis, linguistic origin analysis, legal language comprehensibility and legal language reform (Brennan, 2001).

Recently, forensic linguistics has been used to identify anonymous perpetrators in famous cases such as that of Yorkshire Ripper.

It has also been used in the John Bein Rasmey murder investigation, the O.

J.

Simpson case, and the Oklahoma Unabomber (Roadman, 2001).

Now, there is a professional organization that holds the name "The International Association of Forensic Linguistics" as well as the "International Association of Forensic Phonetics".

There is at least one journal that bears the title "The International Journal of Speech Language and Law', and there are a number of annual conferences and symposia held in different parts of the world devoted to the topic.

Programs in forensic linguistics are currently offered at several universities in the west tiersma, 2003 The number of studies on forensic linguistics published in the ten past years is sufficient to single it out as a separate line of investigation, if not a separate discipline; however, almost all noteworthy practice and studies in this area have been conducted and published in the western world.

Linguists in the Arab World have rarely explored this vital topic and the scope of this science remains vague and barely investigated in this part of the world.

This paper, then, aims to give a general overview of modern forensic Linguists and discuss the increasing importance of this science in investigations, in courtroom trials and in other areas where language and law intermingle.

It is hoped that this would open the door for the so many qualified linguists in this part of the globe to explore this field and to utilize their linguistic experience to enhance judicial systems.